Stunt expert not guilty in film death

A special effects expert was cleared of health and safety breaches yesterday after the death of a cameraman during the making of the last Batman film.

Conway Wickliffe, 41, was killed when the vehicle from which he was filming struck a tree during a test run for an action scene in Batman: The Dark Knight. Mr Wickliffe, who had two children, suffered head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene at an industrial site near Chertsey, Surrey, in September 2007.

Jurors at Guildford Crown Court took less than two hours to find unanimously that Christopher Corbould, 53, a special effects supervisor from Bookham, Surrey, was not guilty of failing to ensure his safety.

An inquest hearing in Woking, in November 2008, ruled his death was an accident.